Pattern #35 Textured Tam

The Case of Needle Size and Gauge

Hello everybody! It is Em! Brittany is traveling home from wherever she is (She's been going all over the US visiting family in the south.  Last I heard, she is heading home.) I've been enjoying the nice weather outside, working out, and enjoying the sunshine!  Hopefully the sun will stay in Green Bay for a while! (We had a late, late start to our summer.  It kept on snowing until late April this year!)


One of my ex-co-workers, Jordan, asked me to make this hat for her. It is pattern 35, the Textured Tam.

I was quite nervous about making this hat.  I have a huge phobia over the L word...aka lace.  And although this project didn't have a TON of lace like features, it had some.  The cables helped me feel better...since I love cables!  Those yarn overs tend to disappear off of my needles and the entire project just ends up looking like crap.

However, when I started knitting this project, I fell in love.  The project was easier than I anticipated.  Everything made sense very quickly.  I understood how the pattern worked up and how to troubleshoot if my stitches got off.  Once I was able to figure out how the stitches lined up, I didn't really "need" the book.  (Don't get me wrong, I still used it and marked off my rows, but it was more of a formality.)

I finished the hat in 2 days flat.

But...


It is too small.

This thing looks like a darn beanie.  The pattern is awesome...but it is TOO short.

This isn't just me.  ALL of the Ravelry knitters who made this project agree...it is TOO short! (See my unhappy face in the picture underneath? Ha, ha.  That's my "gangsta" looking face.  I'm pretty sure I took that photo around 2AM.)

I tried to stretch it over a plate like so:

 

but...it is still too short...  

Looking at the pattern it calls for size 7 needles.  However, in the actual instructions for the hat, it says "with smaller circular needle, cast on 94 sts." Nowhere does it say "with larger needles" indicating that there are no larger needles.  Since the pattern only calls for one size of needle, I am suspecting A) the phrase "with smaller circular needle" is incorrect or B) they forgot to add in the other size needle, which I am guessing is a size 8 or 9.  There is another possible reason: C) the smaller needles are supposed to be a size 6 (not a size 7) and the larger needles are a size 7.  Either way there is some sort of error in the book and I hope Cascade will correct the issue if they see fit.  You can find other errata that Brittany and I discovered (as well as, other talented knitters) by clicking here.

Well, that's all I have for now!
Happy Knitting!!!

Em

Pattern #51 Cabled Cuff Mittens

The Case of Thumbs on a Mitten

Hey Everybody, it is Em!!!

I'm so excited to present you with the finished...Cabled Cuff Mittens!

I wanted to show you photos of my other finished project, the Reverse Stockinette Mittens, however my camera is currently MIA. Therefore, I cannot post anything about my new mittens until it is found. Either way I am very proud of these mittens. They are truly a quick knit.  Now, these mittens are at their new home, with my friend Sarah.  They are nice and long and fit very nicely on Sarah.  They have enough room to stuff an extra layer of mittens or even part of a coat.

I want to restate how I really enjoyed this pattern.  I didn't find any errors.  I read, on Raverly, that it is advised to knit a 2-4 rows of st st, before you start the cabling pattern.  That way it is easier to graft.   I personally didn't find this something important to do.  However, if you prefer to have a little bit of material before you start, it is not a bad idea to knit a row or two.

I also saw an amazing spin on this pattern.  AnnetteTR on Ravelry made her cabled mittens white with blue cabling.  It was the coolest version of the mittens ever.  I asked AnnetteTR how she did this.  Her description was simple. Since I do not know her personally, I do not feel comfortable posting her tips nor her photos on our site.  However, please PLEASE look her up and click "love" on her mittens.  They are to die for!

I wanted to also talk about the art of making thumbs.

When I first started making mittens, I always struggled at making the thumbs look convincing. If anything, they looked strange and tacky. I pondered on HOW could I make better thumbs? I didn't really learn the secret of making thumbs look awesome until I started taking some risks.

Here is what I discovered about making the thumb look normal. I wished somebody told me this when I was learning about thumbs!

1) Don't fret about holes that are between your thumb and the rest of the mitten. You can always sew them shut.

I didn't understand that it was an option to sew something shut. I always spent so much energy trying to pick up stitches that my thumbs looked mutated. Now, I pick up just one or two and sew those shut later.  I cut a long tail and use that strand of yarn to weave in ends, as well as, close up the seam.

2) Pick up the correct number of stitches...plus one more.

I always pick up one extra stitch than what the pattern calls for. Then I knit those two together. This helps make that picked up stitch stronger.

3) The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

In time...your thumbs won't look strange. Mine don't anymore.

I hope that helped!!!!  If not, I hope you enjoyed the photos of my newly made mittens! Again, I cannot rave on how awesome this pattern was!!!

Have a great week!

Em

Pattern #11 Wave Scarf

Brittany Meets Em Scarf



It's Brittany, finally posting again!

Scarves can be so tedious. I normally become bored with them and they end up half done in the bottom of my works in progress bag. This scarf was much different than that. I enjoyed making this scarf from start to finish. The chart was pretty easy to read, but had just enough change to keep me wanting to work on it.

I started this project back in December when I found a beautiful Cascade 220 Quatro yarn at my LYS. I loved the color and thought it would be the perfect color for this scarf. I went home and started knitting. As time went by I slowed down on my progress due to other projects and lack of time. When I picked the project up again I realized I was going to run out of yarn and the scarf was not going to be long enough. To solve this problem, I headed back to my LYS to get the same color. Unfortunately, they were out of that color and I REALLY was inspired to continue working on my Wave Scarf as soon as possible. So, I settled for a different color of the Cascade 220 Quatro yarn. I was a bit nervous about it, but picked a color I thought would really complement the color I had already chose and figured I would make it half and half. I was very nervous because I didn't want to spend a lot of time on something that I would end up disliking and frogging. However, I continued working on my scarf. A couple weekends ago I ran out of the dark blue, purple, and green quatro and added on the turquoise, brown, and light blue yarn. I continued progress on this project and then set it aside.

Last Friday, I was working on it at our Friday Night Knitting Club and Em commented on how much she liked the colors together. We discussed how it kind of looked like colors I really like and colors she really likes. That led to the Wave Scarf being renamed the Brittany Meets Em Scarf. It makes sense because she really likes browns and blues and I really like cool colors like blue, purple and green. The perfect scarf to represent our personalities.



The pattern itself is nothing super complicated but I definitely encourage you to make this scarf. It is fun and each row is slightly different from the last. One error in the pattern which you can find on the errata page is you should skip row 1 of the chart every repeat. The errata page says to skip rows 1-4, but I only skipped row 1 and it worked for me.

My only caution is to keep track of where you are in the pattern when you put it away. I often forgot where I was in the pattern and would end up having to take out a few rows every time I restarted. Also notice that the M on the chart stands for Make 2. At first I kept losing stitches and I could not figure out what I was doing wrong until I realized I was only making one stitch instead of 2.

Yarn Information: Cascade 220 Quatro #1957 (Antigua) & Cascade 220 Quatro #5022 (Oceanside)

Well, as always, I hope you enjoyed my post about this pattern. Do not hesitate to comment if you have any questions about this pattern, or if there is another pattern we have not yet completed that you are looking for help with. We will do our best to answer any questions you have. We may be working on the project you need help with, but just haven't had the chance to post about it yet.

If you would like to see more pictures of this project and other projects completed by me, check out my Flickr Account.

Thanks for reading,
Brittany

Pattern #48 Starfish Hat

I fell in love with this pattern from the second I laid my eyes on it. It is so beautiful. I chose a nice pale pink that I thought would match both of my coats. My mom was surprised by the color because I normally choose purple, but for some reason I was just drawn to the pink. I wanted to pick a somewhat light color that really drew your eye to the starfish in the back of the hat.

Before starting the project, I read many reviews on the pattern and noticed many people saying that the hat seemed to small or did not slouch enough. To change this I decided to use a size 7 knitting needle instead of a size 6. If I were to make this hat again I would use a size 6 needle on the brim and then switch to a size 7 needle. This would make the brim tighter on my head, but still give the hat a nicer slouch. I like the amount of slouch my hat has, but some might not think it is slouchy enough. If you don't seem to think the hat has enough slouch (based on my own pictures) you could always add a few extra rounds of -K17, work twisted rib panel over next 5 sts; rep from around-. The directions say to repeat the rows until the piece measures 7 1/2" however if you want it more slouchy maybe keep knitting until it measures about 8 1/2" or 9".

I can honestly say this was one of my favorite patterns in the whole book and I would happily make it again in the future. (As soon as I'm finished with my other 60 Quick Knits projects)

Yarn Information: Cascade 220 #9475 (Cotton Candy)

More pictures of this and other projects on my Flickr Account
Brittany